Corn-husking machine.



J. E. GOODHUE.

CORN HUSKING MACHINE.

J. E. GOODHUB.

CORN HUSKING MACHINE.

APPLIOATION FILED MAY25,1912.

1,040,663. Patented oen.s,1912.

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J. E. GOODHUB.

CORN HUSKING, MAGHINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 25, 1912.

1 ,040,663. Patented Oct. 8, 1912.

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COLUMBIA vLANoanAPH ca. WASHINGTON D c JAMES E. GOODHUE, 0F ST. CHARLES, ILLINOIS.

CORN-HUSKING MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 8, 1912.

Application filed May 25, 1912. Serial No. 699,637.

To all whom it may concern.'

Be ,it known that I, JAMES E. GooDHUii, a citizen of the United States, residing at St. Charles, in the county of Kane and State of Illinois, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Corn-Husking Machines, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates more particularly to husking machines of the general type disclosed in United States Letters Patent No. 739,540, granted to me on September 22, 1903, and involving, generally stated, means for breaking the ears of corn from the stalks, rollers for removing the husks from the ears, cutting or shredding means into engagement with which the stalks are carried, means for carrying the husks and cut or shredded stalks away from the machine, preferably to a blower for this purpose, and in said conveying movement causing the husks and cut or shredded stalks to pass over the screened top of a chute whereby any loose kernels of corn coinmingled with the pieces of stalks or husks, together with ine particles of the latter, pass through the screen into the chute wherein they are subjected to an air-blast which blows the fine particles out through the chute and permits the kernels to descend into a receptacle. In the machines of the type disclosed in said patent as hitherto constructed, the means for conveying the husks and cut or shredded stalks, through the inachine, were in the form of an endless car rier which served not only to advance the husks and the cut or shredded stalks, but also to mix them together and pass the mixture over the screen. The arrangement of the conveyer was such, however, that its lowermost portion extended entirely below the cleaner-fan and thus the conveyer at its lower end extended close to the ground, which was objectionable because of the danger of clogging thereof by reason of the fact that when machines of this type are in operation, there are usually comparatively great quantities of litter around them, and furthermore, because there was a possibility, under some conditions, of the conveyer becoming disarranged.

My object is to provide a machine wherein all the advantages of machines as hitherto constructed shall be obtained, and the objections, as hereinabove pointed out, overcome.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a view in side elevation of a machine constructed in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is a view in longitudinal sectional elevation taken through the center of the machine and showing the middle p0rtion thereof. Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken at the line 3 ou Fig. 4L and viewed in the direction of the arrow, showing the mechanisin for vibrating the separator-screen. Fig. il is a section taken at the line L on Fig. 3 and viewed in the direct-ion of the arrow; and' Fig. 5, an enlarged broken section taken at the line 5 on Fig. 3 and viewed in the direction of the arrow.

6 is the frame of the machine, upon which cooperating snapping-rollers 7 of any desirable construction and driven in any suitable manner, as is common practice, are Journaled; and 8, a stalk cutter or shredder driven, as hereinafter described, and operating to cut into suitable lengths, or shred, the stalks which are delivered thereto by the :snapping-rolls, as is general practice in connection with machines of this type and fully vdisclosed 1n said Letters Patent.

The ears of corn broken oit" from the stalks by the i rolls 7 drop upon husking rolls 9, which may `be of any well known construction, and are journaled in boxes 10 on the machine to eX- `tend lengthwise thereof and incline upwardly toward the rear end of the machine. The husks removed from the ears by the `rolls S) fall onto a table 1.1 along which they are carried up and across a screen 12 forming the top of a chute 13 open at its opposite ends and supported and operated as herein after described` the shredded or cut stalks being discharged upon the screen-top 12 and `commingling with the husks. The conveying means referred to operate to advance the `comminglcd husks and stalks to a blower,

represented at 14, and having a dischargepipe 15. In the movement of the husks and stalks along the screen 12, the relatively fine `particles of husks and stalks and any loose kernels of corn separated from the ears thereof in the hereinbefore described opeiations, pass through the screen into the inclined chute 13, wherein they are subjected to an air-blast, as from a fan 1G, liournaled in a housing 17 on the machine and opening through a conduit 18 into the lower eX- panded end of the chute 13, the air-blast serving to blow the line particles of stalks and husks out through the upper end of the `chute into the blower 14, for discharge through the conduit 15, whereas the kernels of corn, by reason of their greater weight, drop into an inclined chute 2O located below the lower end of the chute 13 and adapted to discharge the kernels into a receptacle (not shown).

The conveyer for moving the husks along the table 11 and the husks and stalks along the screen 12, as hereinbefore stated, is represented at 21 and is of a well known construction involving a pair of endless cha-ins 22, spacedapart, and an endless series of transverselyextending slats 23, spaced apart and connected therewith, the conveyer 21 in practice bearing at its slats 23 upon the upper surfaces of the table 11 and the screen 12. rllhe conveyer 21 is supported by its chains 22 on sprockets 24 on a shaft 25 and sprockets (not shown), on a shaft 26 located at opposite ends of the machine and below the t-able 11 and screen 12, and intermediate the sprockets on the shafts 25 and 26, the conveyer engages rollers 27 and 28 on shafts 29 and 30 journaled on the machine, and so arranged, as illustrated, as to cause the conveyer 21 to extend transversely of the conduit 18 and into the path of the air-blast produced therethrough by the fan 16, the roller 29 being arranged above the lower stretch of the conveyer and the roller 30 being located below the lower stretch thereof, as illustrated.

To the end of permitting the conveyer 21 to travel transversely through the conduit 18, I provide openings 31 and 32 in the upper and lower walls thereof; and to provide for the effective guidance of the'conveyer 21 therethrough, l equip the conduit- 18 at its opposite sides, on its inner surfaces, with upper and lower cleats 33 and 33a between the pairs of which the chains 22 travel, the pairs of cleats 33 and 33a, at opposite sides of the conduit 18, being spaced apart sufficiently to permit the slats 23 to pass freely between the same.

lt will be understood from that the air-blasts through the conduit 18 produced by the rotation of the fan 16 in the direction of the arrow (Fig. 2), will thus be directed through the conveyer 21 and thence into the chute 13 where it performs the separating function hereinbefore referred to, the skeleton formation of conveyer employed not materially affecting the air-blast through the conduit 18.

To avoid escape of air through the openings 31 and 32, l prefer vto upwardly and downwardly deflect the top and bottom walls, respectively, of the conduit 18 beyoud the openings 31 and 32, relative to the corresponding walls below said openings, thereby causing the portion of the conduit 18 beyond the conveyer to be of` Haring form and effectually prevent loss of air pressure from the conduit 18.

:manner well known inv the art.

the foregoing is connected, by means of a belt 35 with` a pulley 36 on a shaft 37 and with a pulley 38 on a shaft 381 to which the rotary member of the fan 16 is connected, the belt 35 :passing over the idle pulley 39 of a beltt-ightener device 40. The rolls 7 are driven from the shaft 34, as through the medium of gears, diagrammatically represented at 41 and 42, rigid with the shaft 34 and with.

one of the rolls 7, respectively, said rolls,

`in practice, being operatively connected together to rotate in opposite directions, in a The shaft 37 is equipped with a pair of beveled pin-, ions 43 meshing with similar' pinions 44 one only of which is shown), on each pair of cooperating husking rolls 9, in the ma- `chine illustrated provision being made for vemploying two pairs of these rolls, thel lmembers of each pair of which, in practice,

would be geared together through the rnedium of gears 45 (one only of which is shown), as illustrated in said Letters I Patent.

The conveyer 21 is actuated from the shaft 37, through the medium of a cross- `belt 46 passing around a pulley 47 on the lshaft 37 and a pulley 48 on the shaft 26.

In the construction illust-rated, it is understood that both chutes 13 and 2O are reyciprOCated, the chute 13, which is overlapped at its lower screened end by a plateextension 49 on the table 11, being provided with laterally-extending flanges 50 at which the chute rests on angle-irons 51 secured to ythe inner surfaces of the side boards 52 of the machine, which extend preferably below the greater portion of the conveyer 21 between the shafts 26 and 27, the chute, to-

`ward its upper end, being provided with studs 53 which extend through slots 54 in ythe side bo-ards 52 and at which studs the chute is supported at its upper end. The studs are pivotally connected with heads 55 provided on links 56 arranged at opposite sides of the machine and connected with the straps 57 of eccent-rics 58 fixed on the shaft l37, whereby, when the shaft 37 is actuated,

vfrom the material traversing the screen 12,

as hereinbefore described. The chute 20 is pivotally connected, as indicated at 59 andv 60, with the lower ends of a link 61 and a :bell-crank lever' 62, respectively, pivoted on the frame of the machine, as indicated at 63 and 64 respectively, the outer endV of the bell-crank G2 being pivotally connected, as indicated at G5, with the lower end of a rod G6 secured to one of the straps 57, whereby when the shaft 37 is rotated, the chute 20 will be reciprocated back and forth transversely of the machine and thus eject from its lower discharge end, into a :receptacle not shown), the kernels of corn separated from the husks and stalks in the chute 13, as hereinbefore described.

It will be manifest that by so arranging the conveyer 21 as to cause it to travel through the air-blast conduit, the conveyor may be caused to extend at such a distance above the ground that there is no danger of the litter, which surrounds the machine when in operation, becoming entangled in the conveyer and thus impairing its operation. Furthermore, the action of the airblast against the slats 23 serves to clean them of any shreds of husks or stalks which in the conveying operation may become lodged thereon and which, if not removed, might impair the proper operation of the conveyer. Another advantage due Ato the arrangement of the conveyer mechanism as described, is that of maintaining the chains 2'2 in taut condi/tion for preventing disengage ment thereof from their coperating sprockets. In fact, the arrangement of the rollers 27 and 2S, by reason of their engagement with the chains 22 above and below the latter, as illustrated, serves, so far as the feature of rendering the chains taut is concerned, as effectually as is the case where the conveying mechanism is formed of a plurality of endless conveyers.

What claim as new and desire to secure by Letters latentisl. In a machine of the character set forth,

the combination of a perforated support for' the material from which the loose kernels of corn are to be separated, a chute below said support, airblastproducing means for blowing air into said chute, and an endless conveyer for moving said material along said support, supported to extend intermediate said blast-producing means and said chute and traverse the path of said air-blast.

2. In a machine of the character set forth, the combination of a support for receiving the husks, a perforated support beyond said first-named support for receiving the pieces of stalks, a chute below said perforated support, airblastproducing means for blowing air into said chute, and an endless conveyer supported to extend intermediate said blastproducing means and said chute and traverse the path of said air-blast, for conveying the husks along said irstmamed support to said perforated support and moving the husks andv pieces of stalks with loose kernels of corn mixed therein, over said perforated support.

3. In a machine of the character set forth,

the combination of a support for receiving the husks, a perforated support beyond said first-named support for receiving the pieces of stalks, a chute below said 'peiforated support, air-blast-producing nleans for blowing air into said chute, an endless conveyor for feeding the husks along said lirst-nained support to said perforated support and moving the husks and pieces of stalks, with loose kernels of corn mixed therein, over said perforated support, and means engaging with said conveyor against the under and. upper sides thereof above and below said chute, respectively, for detlecting said conveyer transversely through said air-blast, for the purpose set forth,

ln a machine of the character set forth, the combination of a support for receiving the husks, a perforated support beyond said first-named support for receiving the pieces of stalks, a chute below said perforated support, air-blast-producing means, a conduit communicating with said air-blast-produc ing means and arranged to discharge an airblast into said chute, and an endless conveyer supported to extend intermediate said blast-producing means and said chute and traverse the path of said air-blast, for con veying the husks along said trstnamed support to said perforated support and moving the husks and pieces of stalks with loose kernels of corn mixed therein, over said perforated support.

5. .ln a machine of the character set forth, the combination of a support for receiving the husks, a perforated support beyond said first-named support for receiving the pieces of stalks, a chute below said perforated support, air-blast-producing means, a conduit comu'lunicating with said air-blast-producing means and arranged to discharge an airblast into said chute, and an endless conveyer supported to extend through said conduit and traverse the path of said air-blast, for conveying the husks along said firstnamed support; to said perforated support and moving the husks and pieces of stalks with loose kernels of corn mixed therein, over said perforated support, the cross-sectional area of said conduit at the opening through which said conveyer extends and beyond sai d conveyor being greater than the cross-sectional area ofthe conduit at the opposite side of said opening.

G. In a machine of the character set forth, the combination of a support for receiving the husks, a perforated support beyond said tirst-named support for receiving' the pieces of stalks, a chute below said perforated support, air-blast-producing means, a conduit communicating with said air-blast-producing means and arranged to discharge an airblast int-o said chute, the opposed walls of said conduit containing openings, upper and lower spaced guide-cleats arranged at opposite sides of the conduit and at the ends of into engagement at its chains with said :sfad opelngsl, and1 an endles conveyer guide-cleats, for the purpose set Jforth.

ormed o enc less @mins s ace apart and s an endless series of slats gxtendng tmns- JAMES E' GOODHUL versely of and Connected With said chains, In presence of said conveyor being supported to extend RALPH A.So1-IAEFER,

through said openings n said conduit and JOHN WILSON.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

